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On This Day In Photos: The Spaghetti House Siege

ON This Day In Photos: September 28, 1975 – the Spaghetti House Siege.

At the Spaghetti House in Knightsbridge, London, three men were holding six Italians hostage in the basement.

For five days the group were stuck in the basement. They were observed by police who pushed a fibre optic tiny camera through a hole. The news media chipped in by brocasting messages stating that the gunmen had no chance of getting what they wanted.

Radio reporters demoralised the robbers with the insistence their demands would never be met, and the Daily Mail nobly suppressed a hard won scoop at Sir Robert’s personal request, concealing the fact that the police had arrested a man they believed to be a confederate of Davies. The police ensured Davies received a false message to the effect that his alleged confederate was being paid for selling information to the newspapers, and this completed his demoralisation.

It was not man to be like this. The three gunmen had meant to steal the week’s taking – £13,000 – and flee. The gunmen burst in. They shooed nine men, all Italians, into the restaurant’s basement. But one escaped. He alerted the police, who secured the area.

Two hostages fell ill. The gunmen let them go in exchange for cigarettes and coffee.

The men claimed to be part of the Black Liberation Army, a Black Panther splinter group working for socialism and a better lot for blacks. They demanded a plane to Jamaica.

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Three gunmen continue to hold six Italians hostage in the basement of the Spaghetti House, Knightsbridge - the third day if the seige - as a policeman approaches the restaurant with cups of tea on a tray.